A Second Chance
by Toreax
Summary: What if Leonardo had fallen into the mutagen instead of Karai? Set in episode Vengeance is Mine.


Karai had never been so scared.

Scared wasn't the word. Terrified was a perfect word for the situation.

She wasn't a person to get terrified. She confronts her deepest fears and tosses them away, never to fear them again. She was tuff. Being second-in-command in the Foot Clan had done her good. Years of training had her build her life; emotionally and physically.

But years of training couldn't have prepared her for this moment.

Dangling over a massive container of mutagen made her gut twist painfully. Adrenaline pumped through her veins, signaling her to jump and run whenever she had the chance.

Well, she didn't have the chance.

She hadn't missed Baxter Stockman's clumsy mistake of pouring the extra chemicals that wasn't supposed to be added in. She didn't want to know what would happen if she fell in. She could be turned into a mindless monster, like her father had explained, and the extra substance could do something else; probably bad. She wasn't a scientist, but she knew that the combination is dangerous.

Her wrists throbbed from the thrashing she had done when securely locked inside the cage. She felt as if she was an animal; caged and tamed.

She just wanted to go back to the lair. Go back and be with the turtles and her father. She had been in his safe arms just like she wanted, but her vengeance for the Shredder had overcome her senses. She wanted sweet, sweet revenge for taking her away from her real father.

Perhaps this would have gone better if she had let Leonardo join her.

It was true that they had a connection; she felt it the day they met. She couldn't explain it, they were just so alike. He had always given her a second chance when she was denying everything, even the fact that Splinter was her true father. She wasn't sure how he could do that, she hadn't given many people second chances, especially in the Foot. It was just one difference about them, out of none-too-many.

There was a loud crash and explosion and her head whipped to the side in hope. There stood the turtles and her father. She felt a pang in her chest that they had actually come for her. They had no reason to help her after everything she had done to them, but they still came. She would have smiled if she or the turtles were about to get mutated.

If the turtles got mutated, she wasn't sure what she would do.

"Father!" She called out. Her father's eyes turned towards her, as did the turtles. There was a second of complete bewilderment in their expressions. She also wasn't sure why the Shredder would even bait her with mutagen, when all he wanted to do is transform the turtles into mindless monsters that will eat Splinter and attack everything in their way.

"Karai!" Leo screamed. She looked at him and surely saw the pure anger and barely controlled rage that pooled inside him, no doubt about the situation she was in. Maybe she should apologize to him later about knocking him out. It really was a stupid move.

The fight started and went on. Bodies clashed together, flashes of colors, weapons and glints of metal blending together. Tenseness rose throughout the air. Karai writhed and thrashed, trying to get out to help fight with her new family.

She wasn't sure how long it was, but soon she watched as Leonardo jumped up from leverages and got to the edge of the container. Her hands twitched. He needed to be careful.

Leo pounced up to the top of the cage, grabbing onto the chain that held her in the air. Her breathing deepened in anticipation as he began to quickly work on the locks that held her in the small prison.

Soon, the latches snapped and the noise rang through her head. She could only look up to Leo with hopeful eyes. Why did he save her? She had tried to kill him so many times and now he was saving her life. She really loved second chances.

He held out his large hand and she set her in his, a moment longer than needed passed through them. Thankfulness had passed through that one embrace and she smiled her rare seen smiles to him. He better take a picture.

"Thanks." She said.

He nodded and smiled back. She could see relief in the smile. "Anytime."

Leo began to pull her up, but a cry cut through the air, alarming them both. Karai's watched as the Shredder jumped from the side of the container, towards the cage, gauntlet unsheathed. Her eyes widened and she had no time before Shredder swung his blade to the side, slicing through the steal chain.

Butterflies of weightlessness took over Karai's stomach as the cage she was still contained in began falling. Everything seemed to go into slow motion as the mutagen got closer and she looked up to Leo. He was shocked, fair to see, but she felt something drop in the pit of her stomach as his face contorted into a sneer, growling lowly.

"Not this time!" He snarled.

Karai held back a startled yelp as Leonardo swung his legs to the side of the cage, pushing the bars from his feet with all the strength he could muster. The impact sent her and the cage flying sideways, barely missing the edge of the container.

As she fell to the ground, her hand shot out towards him, but she was already too far. Her heart constricted as Leo was sent flying into the mutagen.

"LEO, NO!" She screamed. She heard him gasp and the large slap of skin against mutagen as he fell into the substance.

The cage hit the stone ground, her back hitting the floor. She winced as pain traveled up her spine, but she ignored it.

Karai scrambled out of the cage, running to the container with stumbling steps. There was only silence in the room; the fighting had stopped. Everyone only watched Karai run to the barrier and bang on the sides.

"LEO!"

Karai wanted to cry. She could feel tears prick the edges of her vision, but she didn't dare let them fall. No one can see her weak. Her throat swelled and her knees quaked.

She saw a flash of green pass the glass, long and thin. She stopped calling his name as she waited. She just wanted him back. How could he have saved her? She should have fallen in, not him.

She heard the sound of liquid rippling and a loud bang on the other side of container. Karai quickly ran around, only wanting to see her brother. She had to. He had to be okay.

There was a rumbling roar that echoed and rang throughout Karai's mind. She stopped and hitched, setting her trembling hand on the glass.

Leonardo slithered out of the container. His body contorted into long, thin, but extremely muscular. Scales tracked along his skin and his plastron ran all the way down his underside. His legs were gone, nowhere to be seen. His hands extended out slimy leaf green snakes, the color of his scales. His head widened into more of a rectangular shape, his snout long. Sharp fangs peaked out of his mouth. His shell was gone, only hexagon patterns on his back and neck.

Karai made a noise that she hadn't heard in a long time. A strangled sob escaped her. His eyes a betrayed the midnight blue that once held wisdom and leadership, now portraying a dull, lifeless gray. She felt a warm year trickle down her cheek and onto her neck. Nothing in his eyes held memories of her, he only acknowledged her.

She heard footsteps and gasps behind her, knowing it was her family. Leonardo's gaze seemed to lock onto Splinter, his mouth pulled back into a snarl. He lunged towards him, his scales scraping across the cement floor.

Splinter barely had any time to react before Leonardo's tail wrapped tightly around him, squeezing the air out of him. Karai reacted quickly, throwing herself in front of Leonardo, her arms held out. She snaked her arms around his large torso, pulling him into a hug. Her hands barely made their way around him, but she could feel him halt in his reactions.

She lifted her head, her teary eyes looking at Leonardo. She saw a glint of remembrance in his eyes and she sniffed, her mouth pulling into the rare, hopeful smile that she had given him before he had fallen.

His eyes widened. "…Miwwaaa."

His voice had become lower, shaking her to the bone, but she had heard that small bit of the old Leonardo push through. "Yeah Leo."

There was a moment of ringing silence, and she wondered if he was remembering everything. But, his eyes went back to Splinter and he growled. Karai panicked. "Wait Leo, its Splinter remembers? Our father."

She saw Leonardo leave the monster's eyes, but his tail unraveled from Splinter and backwards. She was knocked over, falling into the arms of her family.

And then Leonardo was gone.

Karai fell to her knees as he disappeared out of the window. She knew that the Shredder and his idiot goons were gone. And so was Leo.

Her arms wrapped around herself and another sob escaped her mouth. Tears streamed down her face. She felt weak. She felt broken, like something inside her had disappeared.

She only thought.

She had never got to say sorry.

She could only hang onto hope for a second chance to get Leonardo back.

**Sorry, this one was a little sloppy. Really sloppy, actually. And really short. This isn't my best, but my thoughts are a little scattered right now. I couldn't get this idea out of my head. I didn't really want it to be a Leorai Fic, not that I'm not a fan, but I wanted to put everything in Karai's P.O.V just so y'all can see what she's thinking in his situation. I know that it's a little OOC for Karai to cry, but I feel that they had a serious connection between them and in this fic; I wanted it to be as if Leo was a part of Karai, which she kind of is, in my opinion. But, when Leo left, a part of her left to. Hope you enjoyed!**


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